Press release
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Thanksgiving
Eucharist Preaching
given by Mons. Stanislaw Rylko |
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"We remember…". Memory plays an important role indeed in the life of an ecclesial movement. It means, first of all, to remember one's own origins. The history of an ecclesial movement is not a locked archive, that needs dusting every now and then, nor is it a museum of beautiful historical findings, to be kept there and admired… the history of a movement is a living thing… it is an open book that should be constantly read, again and again… it is a school that has so much to teach… it is a treasure containing many riches to share… it is an ever living message that should be welcomed… it is a gushing spring of freshness and fascinating beauty pouring from the charisma the movement was born from… And today once again, like every year, accompanied by many friends - bishops, priests, important personalities, brothers from other Churches and Christian communities and many of them belonging to the vast ranks of people you take care of in different manners - through memory you trace back your life that started here in Rome, in Trastevere, nearly 40 years ago. Everything started with a small group of young people gathered around one their same age, an eighteen year old called Andrea Riccardi. Those were hard years, years of protest, and many young people allowed themselves to be seduced by false ideologies and ephemeral illusions. In those stormy and confused years, during the sixties, this small group of young people of Trastevere decided to chose a different path - to put their stakes on the Person of Jesus Christ and on the fascinating force of his Word contained in the Gospel. And that is what they did, without beating around he bush! And soon they discovered someone else - the poor - our true teachers of life that we have so much to learn from. The first group started to gather in the small church of Sant'Egidio in Trastevere… No one thought of founding a movement! They simply allowed themselves to be fascinated by the Person of Christ and his Gospel. God, however, was already accomplishing his plan, which went far beyond their own expectations… From this small "mustard seed" the Lord gave birth to the Community. Today 37 years later, it is present in seventy countries on all continents. The ways of the Lord are inscrutable! Pope John Paul II says: "Whenever the Spirit intervenes, he leaves people astonished. He brings about events of amazing newness; he radically changes persons and history" (May 30th, 1998). This was true also for you. This great spiritual adventure bearing the name of Sant'Egidio started like that. It has changed the lives and given a meaning to the existence of thousands of people, men and women, young people, adults and elderly people, cultivated people and simple people, persons belonging to different cultures and different places… That is how this project of Christian life began, lived coherently and radically, with joy, thrust and enthusiasm, ready to face the high and demanding tests of sanctity and the major social and cultural challenges of our times. Faith is never an airy idea, disincarnate, it is new life lived in Christ within earthly realities, and you have discovered it thanks to Sant'Egidio! Today, then, we must thank the Lord for what he wished to accomplish in the lives of each and every one of you through the charisma of your movement! Today we must thank the Lord for the precious fruits that in these 37 years your movement has borne in many local Churches around the world, in the universal Church and in society at large! Today, as you look upon the history of your Community, you are called, as it is always on such special occasions, to welcome the charisma of Sant'Egidio with a renewed sense of gratitude and responsibility. It is the greatest treasure you have, and Christ calls you to serve the Church and the men and the women of our times with it. A movement's whole life, all its missionary and educational force, rise from this source. It must be preserved with love, humbleness and absolute faithfulness, so that the gift you have received is never wasted or spoilt. A movement's charisma conceals inexhaustible riches, to be uncovered more and more and again and again… This gift is so huge that it overcomes us and astonishes us with its freshness and novelty… And there is only one rule to preserve a charisma as live and dynamic as it is: you must live it right through with enthusiasm and have the courage to share it with others. To remember one's origins, therefore, means to discover one's own charisma again and engage in living it with a renewed enthusiasm. 2. The passage of the Gospel we have listened to introduces the important issue of mission in our meditation. Without opening up to mission, remembering one's origins would easily run the risk of becoming a dangerous focus on oneself, flat self-referentiality. It is, therefore, appropriate that the Community of Sant'Egidio lives today's celebration especially as a renewed missionary thrust: Here I am, send me!... The evangelist Mark says: "Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in your belts […]" (Mk 6, 7-13). This passage of the Gospel has been particularly dear to each member of Sant'Egidio since its beginning. The disciples were sent two by two and in this you discovered how important the community is in the life of Christians; and in taking nothing you discovered the irresistible power of the Word of God, as the words of your song say: "We do not have too many riches, only the Word of the Lord". The charisma of every ecclesial movement is by its own nature oriented to mission, and it is an extremely powerful instrument for evangelising. During the memorable meeting with the ecclesial movements on Saint Peter's Square in 1998, the Pope said with regard to this: "In our world, often dominated by a secularized culture which encourages and promotes models of life without God, the faith of many is sorely tested, and is frequently stifled and dies. Thus we see an urgent need for powerful proclamation and solid, in-depth Christian formation. There is so much need today for mature Christian personalities, conscious of their baptismal identity, of their vocation and mission in the Church and in the world! There is great need for living Christian communities! And here are the movements and the new ecclesial communities: they are the response, given by the Holy Spirit, to this critical challenge at the end of the millennium. You are this providential response!" (May 30th, 1998). Indeed, in many baptised people, ecclesial movements are capable of releasing an extraordinary missionary thrust that opens up constantly new horizons and presses people towards new and original paths of proclamation and witness. Your community confirms this very concretely. It is sufficient to look at the initiatives you promote in favour of the poor, the marginalised, the elderly, the homeless, the foreigners. It is sufficient to look at the initiatives you carry out for the disabled people, for people with AIDS. Here I would like to remember the DREAM program, which you successfully promoted in Africa and has recently earned you the prestigious Balzan Prize. And you work for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue in the "spirit of Assisi", an important commitment in a globalised and increasingly multi-cultural world, as the one we live in. And your initiatives in favour of peace and reconciliation in different parts of the world that are torn apart by fratricidal wars… It would take long to make a detailed list of all the initiatives you promote. It is necessary, however, to remember them today, as your Community lives its yearly time of thanksgiving. Everything is a gift, which the Lord, the giver of all that is good, must be thanked for. The Lord teaches us: "So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty'" (Lk 17, 10). And all of us present here today in this Lateran Basilica join you in your thanksgiving, for the great deeds the Lord accomplishes in the life of your Community and in the life of many other ecclesial movements that the Pope constantly calls "a gift of the Spirit, a sign of hope for the Church and for humanity".. |
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"Within
your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love…"